--- title: "Cancer Research UK rating & legitimacy | CharityCompare" description: "Is Cancer Research UK a legitimate UK charity? Clarity Score 83/100. Accounts 2025: income £735m · 64% on charitable activities. Reg 1089464." source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/cancer-research-uk retrieved: 2026-08-18T02:51:01.838Z license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0" --- Quick answer ## Is Cancer Research UK a good charity? Cancer Research UK scores 83/100 (4 stars, Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£735m total income, 64% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown. London · UK-wide · E20 1JQ | Reg [1089464](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/cancer-research-uk) | Registered charity | [Official website](https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/) | [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1089464) Donate ## How can you give to CANCER RESEARCH UK? You leave CharityCompare to complete a donation on the official CANCER RESEARCH UK form. We do not process payments or take commission. Opens their official online donation form. [Donate](https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/donate?utm_source=charitycompare&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=donate&utm_content=1089464) ## What does Cancer Research UK do? Cancer Research UK is a registered charity (no. 1089464) working in cancer across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 64% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 6 months of reserves, and files its annual accounts on time. Reported income has been growing (≈6% a year). CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes. Summarised from public filings — Cancer Research UK hasn't added its own description yet. [Work here? Add it free →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/claim?charity=cancer-research-uk) **In short:** CANCER RESEARCH UK scores 83 out of 100 (4 stars). 64% average program spend (3-year average). Filings are up to date with no major concerns. ## What is Cancer Research UK? Cancer Research UK has a Clarity Score of 83 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars, Good). Charity Commission registration number 1089464. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Cancer. Latest accounts year 2025: total income £735m, with 64% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: up to date. Reserves: approximately 6 months of operating costs. No major red flags from our filing review. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation. Data from [Charity Commission register](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), last updated 17 July 2026. Overall score 83/100 4★ · Good Cause spend 64% 3-yr avg · charitable activities Accountability 100/100 Finance beacon Income £735m Latest year 2025 Reserves 6 mo Months of running costs Accounts filing On time Charity Commission £5.8 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 19% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: high ## How does CANCER RESEARCH UK compare? Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers CANCER RESEARCH UK scores higher than. Income band (£10m+)67thpercentile **Scores higher than 67% of 943 charities in its income band** · 83/100 vs 77 peer average (marker). Cancer charities65thpercentile **Scores higher than 65% of 93 charities in this cause** · 83/100 vs 78 peer average (marker). ## How reliable is Cancer Research UK's data? Source Charity Commission (England & Wales) Accounts year 2025 Filing date 24 June 2026 Profile reviewed 17 July 2026 High confidence — complete filing data Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: [Charity Commission for England and Wales](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/), [Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator](https://www.oscr.org.uk/) and [Charity Commission for Northern Ireland](https://www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/). [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). ## What is Cancer Research UK's Beacon report? Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report. ### Accountability & Transparency Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies. 100/100 | Metric | Score | Value | | --- | --- | --- | | Filing history (5 years) 100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts. | 100% | 15/15 pts | | Trustee oversight Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three). | 100% | 14 trustees · 15/15 pts | | Declared policies Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return. | 100% | 10/10 pts | ### Financial Health Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts. 70/100 | Metric | Score | Value | | --- | --- | --- | | Reserves (months of cash) 3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts. | 100% | 6 months · 15/15 pts | | Income stability / growth +20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between. | 60% | 6/10 pts · 3-year average | | Liabilities to assets 0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt. | 0% | 61% · 0/5 pts | ### Financial Efficiency How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios. 60/100 | Metric | Score | Value | | --- | --- | --- | | Program expense ratio 90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below. | 40% | 64% · 4/10 pts (3-year average) | | Fundraising efficiency ≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income). | 80% | 17p per £1 income · 8/10 pts (3-year average) | ### Community Support Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff. 100/100 | Metric | Score | Value | | --- | --- | --- | | Volunteer-to-staff ratio Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between. | 100% | 26,000 volunteers / 5169 staff · 10/10 pts | [How we calculate beacon scores →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) ## What is Cancer Research UK's Clarity Score? 83/100 total · Good · 4 of 5 stars Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings. 100/100 Accountability & Transparency 70/100 Financial Health 60/100 Financial Efficiency 100/100 Community Support ### Accountability & Transparency Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies. 100/100 Filing history (5 years)15/15 pts Trustee oversight14 trustees · 15/15 pts Declared policies10/10 pts ### Financial Health Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts. 70/100 Reserves (months of cash)6 months · 15/15 pts Income stability / growth6/10 pts · 3-year average Liabilities to assets61% · 0/5 pts ### Financial Efficiency How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios. 60/100 Program expense ratio64% · 4/10 pts (3-year average) Fundraising efficiency17p per £1 income · 8/10 pts (3-year average) ### Community Support Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff. 100/100 Volunteer-to-staff ratio26,000 volunteers / 5169 staff · 10/10 pts ## How much does Cancer Research UK raise and spend? Latest filed year 2025 · Source: Charity Commission filings | Category | Amount | % of spend | | --- | --- | --- | | Total income | £735m | — | | Total expenditure | £715m | — | | Charitable activities | £453m | 63% | | Fundraising | £130m | 18% | | Governance & admin | £6.4m | 1% | 63%On charitable activities ## Where does the money go? Latest accounts (2025) · £715m spent - Charitable activities63% · £453m - Fundraising18% · £130m - Governance1% · £6.4m - Other spending18% · £126m ## What trust indicators does Cancer Research UK have? Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported. - ✓ Accounts filed on time up to date · last filing 24 June 2026 - — Trustee board size (3–12) 14 trustees on the Charity Commission register - ✓ Workforce on register 5169 employees · 26,000 volunteers (5:1 volunteer-to-staff) Fundraising Regulator Not listed as member Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice. [Check Fundraising Regulator →](https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/members/) Official register Reg 1089464 Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission. [View on Charity Commission →](https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1089464) ### Trustees & officers - PROFESSOR NICHOLAS CLWYD JONES since 2020 - JOANNE MARY SHAW since 2020 - Dr Robert James Campbell Easton since 2020 - PROFESSOR PAMELA RENATE KEARNS PhD FRCPCH since 2021 - Professor Doreen Ann Cantrell FRS since 2022 - PROFESSOR GERARD IAN EVAN since 2022 - Hitesh Thakrar since 2023 - Rakshit Kapoor since 2023 - Lord Simon Stevens since 2023 - Professor Dame Nancy Jane Rothwell since 2024 - Mark Philip Evans since 2024 - Catherine Eve Smaje since 2024 100 How we score charities +The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically. [Full methodology →](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) Accountability & Transparency Scored from filings 40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10). Financial Health Scored from filings 30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises). Financial Efficiency Scored from filings 20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below). Community Support Scored from filings 10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio. Overall score Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated. ## How have Cancer Research UK's finances changed over five years? - Income - Spending - Cause spend Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts ## What are the key facts about Cancer Research UK? Overall score 83/100 (4★) Income £735m Cause spend 64% of expenditure Reg number 1089464 Scope UK-wide Reserves 6 months Trustees 14 Accounts year 2025 Filing up to date ## How does CANCER RESEARCH UK compare, and where else can you look? [Compare CANCER RESEARCH UK with others](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/compare-charities?ids=cancer-research-uk) [More cancer charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/cancer) [How we score charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology) ### Where CANCER RESEARCH UK sits The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby. - [cancer charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/cancer) - [medical research charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/medical-research) - [health charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/health) - [education charities](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/education) - [Charities in London](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/cities/london) - [cancer charities in London](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/browse/cancer/london) ### Similar cancer charities Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score - [THE MARY HOW TRUST FOR CANCER PREVENTION](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/the-mary-how-trust-for-cancer-prevention) 100/100 · £1.7m - [FIGHTING ALL CANCERS TOGETHER](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/fighting-all-cancers-together) 100/100 · £554k - [THE JOSHUA TREE - SUPPORTING FAMILIES AFFECTED BY CHILDHOOD CANCERS](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/the-joshua-tree-supporting-families-affected-by-childhood-cancers) 97/100 · £1.1m - [NEWBURY CANCER CARE](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/newbury-cancer-care) 97/100 · £762k ## How can you share Cancer Research UK's rating? Share: [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Cancer%20Research%20UK%20%E2%80%94%2083%2F100%20Clarity%20Score%20on%20CharityCompare&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.charitycompare.org.uk%2Fcharity%2Fcancer-research-uk)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.charitycompare.org.uk%2Fcharity%2Fcancer-research-uk)[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.charitycompare.org.uk%2Fcharity%2Fcancer-research-uk)[Bluesky](https://bsky.app/intent/compose?text=Cancer%20Research%20UK%20%E2%80%94%2083%2F100%20Clarity%20Score%20on%20CharityCompare%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.charitycompare.org.uk%2Fcharity%2Fcancer-research-uk) Copy link Print / save as PDFOpens a printer-friendly view of this profile for Cancer Research UK. For this charity ## How do you add Cancer Research UK's rating to your site? Free to use — a lightweight HTML badge or an embeddable score widget, each linking back to this independent profile and our [methodology](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/methodology). BadgeScore widget [♥ CharityCompare Clarity Score 83/100 ★★★★★](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/charity/cancer-research-uk) Lightweight HTML badge (no iframe) — paste anywhere ♥ CharityCompare Clarity Score 83/100 ★★★★★ Copy code ## Frequently asked questions Common questions about Cancer Research UK's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status. Is Cancer Research UK a good charity? + Cancer Research UK scores 83 out of 100 (4 stars — Good) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 64% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate. Is Cancer Research UK a legitimate charity? + Yes — Cancer Research UK is a legitimate registered charity (charity number 1089464). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1089464. Registration proves status; Clarity Score then summarises filing transparency on paper, not programme impact. What is Cancer Research UK's charity number? + Cancer Research UK's charity number is 1089464. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals. What is Cancer Research UK's charity rating? + Cancer Research UK scores 83 out of 100 on CharityCompare (4 stars — Good). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking. Does Cancer Research UK have reviews and complaints? + CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Cancer Research UK. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts. For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate. How much of my donation reaches Cancer Research UK? + According to its 2025 regulator filing, 64% of Cancer Research UK's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift. What are Cancer Research UK's overheads? + According to its 2025 regulator filing, fundraising costs were about 18% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 19% of total expenditure at Cancer Research UK. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what Cancer Research UK's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register. How much income does Cancer Research UK receive? + Cancer Research UK reported £735m total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing. Are Cancer Research UK's accounts up to date? + Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score. Where is Cancer Research UK based? + Cancer Research UK is listed at London · UK-wide · E20 1JQ and operates UK-wide, focused on cancer. How does CharityCompare score Cancer Research UK? + We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Cancer Research UK's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought. How often is this page updated? + This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Cancer Research UK's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.